A typical garage door assembly includes a solid door pivotally mounted in a door frame. From a closed position, the door can move pivotally upwardly and rearwardly to an overhead, approximately horizontal position. Another type of garage door assembly includes a garage door partitioned into several members. These several members are guided by rollers connected to a track system.
Various methods exist today for securing such garage doors to prevent any unauthorized entry by an intruder into the garage. Many residences often have a garage door secured by a padlock. These padlocks are generally located on the outside surface of the garage door and are, therefore, subject to unauthorized manipulation. Padlocks or other locks often have proven insufficient to overcome the strength and/or ingenuity of an intruder. Further, garages having garage door openers provide little security and often sacrifice security for convenience. Garage door openers comprise chain driven door openers, belt-driven door openers, and shaft driven openers and the like. Regardless of the type of garage door equipped with a garage door opener, an intruder can open such garage doors with relative ease because there is usually sufficient play in the joints, tracks, carriage, and drive connections to permit wedging of the door bottom and unauthorized entry.
Apparatuses and methods for securing garage doors are well known in the art. However, there remains a need to improve these known garage door locks. For example, the currently available garage door locks may not provide adequate security against an unauthorized entry. Other garage door locks may be overly complex and require delicate adjustments and constant maintenance in order to function reliably. Others are inconvenient in that they are not capable of being opened using a remote control, and thus do not take advantage of such technology.